Wānaka Police has issued a warning to shoplifters after nine incidents were reported in the past week.

Sergeant Kim Chirnside said he expected the number of shoplifting incidents to rise as the number of larger retailers in Wānaka increased. 

He said some shoplifters think it’s an “easy game,” he said.

“They should know there is surveillance and it’s quite sophisticated. We do catch up with these people.”

Perpetrators are typically stealing low value items but in this case one of the offenders stole around $900 worth of goods. 

Two of the offenders have been apprehended and enquiries continue in the remaining cases.

Close call on the Clutha River 

Sergeant Chirnside also reiterated the importance of making sensible decisions on waterways after a “high risk” incident on the Clutha River last Saturday (January 20).

“An adult paddle boarder with two children on the same paddleboard went on the Clutha River during high river levels, the same day a kayak race was cancelled because the river was too high.

“They couldn’t stop when they wanted to and carried on way downstream. Thankfully they self-rescued but had already deployed a search and rescue response to find them.

“Poor decisions were made on that day, but thankfully no one was hurt.”

Drink driving and crashes 

There were three drink drivers apprehended in the last week and another three (unrelated) non-injury car crashes.

Two of the three crashes occurred in the Cardrona Valley, a hotspot for crashes when it rains.

“We see crashes whenever the weather is inclement up Cardrona Valley,” Sergeant Chirnside said.

The area between the south of the Cardrona Township and the Crown Range summit is typically where these crashes occur. 

The drivers were not believed to be speeding but it serves as a reminder to drive to the conditions, he said.

‘Significant levels of intoxication’, assault 

“We’ve seen significant levels of intoxication around town on the streets, particularly after midnight,” Sergeant Chirnside said.

“It really is a problem after midnight and people not having an easy way to get home and loitering around town so we encourage the public to have a plan to get home.”

He said an assault had occurred late at night “after a night of drinking at the bars”.

The offender was arrested and the victim did not require medical attention. 

Several people were caught breaching the liquor ban, which he wanted to remind the public runs throughout the year, not just over summer.

PHOTO: Wānaka App